Unbreakable Bond
by aidorunobouken
Summary: A bond between siblings is not visible to some, but for those who stop and pay attention, it is unmistakable. It is a connection that can never be forged between anyone other than two siblings, and is as unbreakable as it is hard to crush a diamond. That's the bond between Makoto and Yukiho.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: this is a story i wrote with my friend. the idea of the story is mine, and i really enjoy thinking of this story. i'm kind of stuck in the second chapter.. i have tons of art requests to do, so don't expect the next chapter to come out any soon. the first chapter was done thanks to my friend Abbie~! *asdfghjkl* i hope you enjoy reading this ヽ(；▽；)ノ **

Makoto was in the courtyard, again; a large expanse of space covered in carefully laid concrete slabs, and no walls, only shrubbery and the occasional tree separating it from the rest of the world. She was watching members of the kingdoms guard from behind a rose bush manoeuvre and charge towards each other in mock battle, as she had done almost religiously since she turned 4. The way they moved was poetic, almost like a dance, despite the bitter coldness of the spring morning, which never failed to make Makoto gasp in amazement or cheer in excitement as she watched. The fighters used artfully carved swords that glinted in the golden rays of the sunlight, causing her to turn and wince every time a particularly bright light was reflected her way.

Makoto was 5 (although when speaking to others she would adamantly insist that it was 5 and a half), and whenever she was away from the Castle with her sister or mother, this is where she would be. Did I mention she was daughter to the queen?

Yes, Princess Makoto was everything expected of a Prince, not a Princess, however much she tried to prove them otherwise.  
On the other hand, Yukiho, her only sibling, (the youngest, at 4, less than a year until she reached 5, like her sister) was the embodiment of grace. If you only observed her from afar, and never ventured to talk to the girl, you would assume that nobody was more perfect for the role of a princess, from the way that she stood, to the way you could always tell she was quietly absorbing her surroundings, learning everything about her environment.

In actuality, Yukiho rarely ever got anything done, due to her fear of not being good enough for the task, or for the fact that her shy nature prevented her from talking to strangers. She almost never left the castle because of her fear of the unknown (and of course, there were so many dogs outside the castle walls!), so of course Makoto found it impossibly strange and unnerving when she caught sight of the white dress she was so fond of wearing.

Makoto turned to find her walking behind one of the castles many butlers - albeit the one both the children were most fond of; a reserved yet charming man named Hokuto - clutching his hand as if her life depended on the contact. She walked close behind him, so close that every few steps she tripped on the back of his shoes and fought to regain her balance before Hokuto got too far ahead. She had grown to just below his knee now, though Makoto was definitely taller.  
"Makoto," the butler cooed. He always used this tone on the siblings, which annoyed Makoto to no end. She wasn't a child! "You need back to come to the castle now, I've-"

"But I'm not finished watching yet!" Makoto whined, gesturing towards the guards still in their fake fight. The noise of the scraping swords and grunts of exertion echoed around the courtyard, a much more alive soundtrack than the gloomy silence that almost always haunted the wide halls of the castle.

"Come home, Makoto." Yukiho whispered. Around her sister, she was normally so vibrant, and Makoto put her nervousness down to her being in such a crowded place. "Mommy is sick. Sicker than before. Daddy says we all need to come to her quarters and give her strength to keep fighting hard."

With a nod of agreement from Hokoto, Makoto shot a glance back to battle that was still raging behind her. It has turned into less of a serious practice now, one man pushing his sword between the gap of his partners arm and chest, who proceeded to let out a laboured cry and fall to his knees. It earned a laugh from those around him, and from Makoto. But with a sigh, she took Yukiho's hand and was led back home.

It was a short trip back to the castle, though still being long enough to observe the darkening clouds cover the sky. There was going to be a storm, Makoto feared. She would spend the night in Yukiho's room, then-

the younger sibling was terrified of thunder. After a short while longer they were sheltered by the walls of the castle; covered in only a few raindrops that had begun to fall. They took a left at a top of the main hallway, then went straight up the winding staircase that led to their Parents room in the most extensively decorated part of the castle. Gold thread lined the tapestries covering the walls and was artfully sewn into the carpets, a little like it did on the corridors leading to Makoto and Yukiho's rooms. Hokuto stopped at the guarded mahogany door that led to their parents room, and took the handle.

"Stop!" One of the two men stood to attention grunted, looking down at the children. He inclined his head to Hokuto, who leant his head forward as the guard spoke quietly to him. There was a long silence that made Makoto want to pace, or just march through the doors herself, or just do something! Finally, Hokuto stood up straight again.  
"Alright…. I understand. Of course." He turned to the siblings "To your bedrooms." he resolved, his voice a little lower than usual. Why couldn't they go in? Makoto wanted to check on her Mother!  
"But-!"  
"I'll have none of that young lady, orders are orders." His lips curled into a sad smile. "I want to tell you something. Here, we'll all go to Yukiho's room and talk together, alright?" He pushed Makoto back down the corridors, knowing Yukiho would be following. She wouldn't disobey orders and run into the room like her sister would.  
They walked in companionable silence to the girls' quarters, and went into Yukiho's bedroom, to sit on the brightly coloured bed at the back of the room. The walls were a very soft grey colour, the colour of clouds in summer; it made her bed and chest of drawers stand out against the dull colours.  
The sound of thunder suddenly broke the silence, sounding quite near to the castle. Of course, Yukiho yelped and jumped, making Hokuto laugh. But his smile faded, and he began to speak.  
"The guard told me some bad news back in your parent's hallway. You know that your Mother has been very ill in this last week-or-so?" Both nodded, so he continued. "Do you know how ill? I suppose not, because your Father wouldn't want you to be worried. But she has been scaring us in these last few days and…. well-" He shuffled on his feet, and looked away from the pair of girls, who sat waiting on the bed unknowingly.  
"Your mother has passed away."

* * *

It was a few days after the girls, and the rest of the kingdom, too, had found out about their beloved Queens passing. People lined the streets, not in the usual hustle and bustle of their normal Saturday market-time, but walked unusually formally, in black suits and ankle reaching dresses - some with bouquets of white lilies or poppies.

No one in the kingdom would be anywhere else today, every man; woman and child walked slowly towards the castles private graveyard, just on the inside of the great wall that separated the Kingdom from the rest of the world - the unknown. Just for today, chairs were lined in the formation of pews across the area, almost the size of a field. The castles inhabitants - The King, Makoto and Yukiho, and all the staff that cleaned, cooked, guarded and waited upon the royals each day - got front seats to view the casket covered in flowers in middle centre of the open space in front of the seats. Slowly, people started arriving - the first one to sit being His Majesty. Makoto and Yukiho were about to join him, both dusting down their pitch black dresses that they would never wear anywhere else.

"Makoto?"

"Hmm?"

"Black suits you."

That being said, they walked through the already open doors into the cloudless, sunny day. It didn't seem to fit the with people's feelings today, or the sea of black clothing that coated the ground like a blanket. They took their seats at either side of their Father, and the ceremony began.

It was a surprisingly short event, the Priest seeming to sense the crowds just wanted to see their Queen put to rest, without the unnecessary speeches. He finished the service by reading the deceased's will to the crowd. She had left almost everything to her Husband and children, spare a few things for her favourite servants and close friends.

The excessive amount of money Makoto heard she would receive didn't mean anything to her at all. It could be thrown into the nearest river, for all she cared. The only thing that did mean something to her, however, was a sword. Nothing that would look too special, to a stranger, just a plain, long and slim blade with a golden handle and a few gems to cover it; and way too big and heavy for the tiny Makoto to hold up, but to her it was the world. She had seen her mother polish this sword countless times, and saw her place it in a shiny glass cabinet in her room. It was obviously important to her, but Makoto had never thought to ask why. And now she would never be able to. They left the grassy area in silence only interrupted by the cheerful birdsong echoing around the area, oblivious to the dismal mood of the humans.

* * *

The sky was clear. So cloudless and bright that Makoto had to hold an arm over her eyes to avoid the suns harsh glare. She was 16 now, and watching the guard in the courtyard - behind the same bush like she did almost every day before dinner time. The fighters were up early like always, clashing swords and moving their feet to an invisible rhythm. Watching the story of their battle unfold was still as fascinating and exiting as that very first day Makoto saw them.

Ever since the queen died the Kingdom had become so much more melancholy; something had left them that was irreplaceable and brought a bright spark to the land. Still, life went on, however slowly, even for Makoto. She had chosen her favourite fighter over the past years - a young man, probably about Makoto's age, called Ryo.

He was smaller and skinnier than all the other guards training, but had wit and cunning that helped him outsmart the brawn of the others. She admired him, the only one to show up to each and every training session. She observed him deal a particularly swift blow to his current opponent's knees, making sure he didn't harm him, but still showing he could, when the sound of a canon ricocheted across the land. It interrupted the guardsmen's fight, and they stopped to listen to where the noise came from, seemingly the eastern wall; not very close to the courtyard, then. There were other noises, too, a repeating banging sound, like a hammer on wood, only a thousand times louder. Was someone trying to break through the gates? Makoto couldn't think of anything else it could be, and ran as fast as possible back to the castle.

Just before she made it into the security of the castle's walls, there was a noise easily doubling the volume of the recurring thuds that had been happening for the past few minutes. It was followed by cheers, wails, and the thundering of thousands of feet rushing through the gates.

Someone was definitely coming. Somebody who didn't mean well in the slightest.  
Horns sounded from the castle- so they had noticed, then.

Makoto burst into a run again, in an effort to find a familiar face so they could tell her what was going on, or what to do. After wandering onto a slightly less decorated hall that she rarely visited, she found the one of the king's Advisors - Kotori. Her face was panic stricken and was moving round the room as if she didn't know what to do with herself.  
"Kotori!" Makoto paced forward eagerly, glad to find someone she recognized. The assistant turned to her and immediately grabbed Makoto by the arm, half dragging her out of the room. As they walked, Kotori talked.

"I need to take you someplace safe, a group of soldiers from another Kingdom have snuck into the castle through the sewer - we just found out about a larger group taking down the gates too, this is definitely a planned attack!" They turned a corner onto a carpet coated hallway. There were large windows all around the room, letting the bright sunlight filter through. It also brought with it the sounds of the men outside fighting, the guard Makoto watched play fighting just minutes ago surely in real battle now. "We didn't know what they had come for until they had fought their way out, but we know now, something to keep the King from retaliating. Something he wouldn't dare risk loosing; so he would just let the soldiers come into the kingdom without a fight.  
They took Yukiho."


	2. Chapter 2

"-They took Yukiho."

What? No. That's impossible. Right? How many guards do we have in this castle? Questions fluttered around Makoto's head so quickly it was hard to choose just one question to ask. After a moment of stunned silence she replied.  
"You're kidding, right?"

Yukiho and Makoto's quarters were quite far into the castle, and the captors would have faced quite the task trying to get that far in without being detected.  
"I wish so. but no, sadly." Kotori sighed, allowing herself to let out some of the stress show, sagging her shoulders. "I really don't get why they'd go in the opposite direction of the king's rooms, and go straight for Yukiho. They most likely already knew the corridors and hallways of the castle very well, or at least enough to know where to go to get what they wanted…"  
Kotori had talked too much about what Makoto didn't need to know, and little about the point burning at the forefront of her mind.  
"Why Yukiho? Do you know where they've taken her?"

Kotori shook her head in response, frustrated. So she was as well informed as Makoto, then. She would have to find out from somewhere else. With a quick nod to the assistant who still looked upset due to her lack of knowledge, Makoto turned and sped back down the hallway and out of the room she had came into a few minutes ago, racing towards the main conference room where her father would surely be. He would know something.

The normally long walk to the conference room was cut much shorter than usual, due to Makoto's speedy pace. She found it easy to weave in and out of the rushing crowd of staff and guardsmen who were still struggling to arrange themselves and figure out a plan of retaliation. People took little notice of her hurried pace today, since everyone seemed to be busy doing something else; whether it was organizing the guards, sending maids out of harms way up the spiraling towers, or just trying to sort their own selves out, and help as much as they could. Only a small amount of the people crowding the rooms she ran through were people Makoto recognized, the rest were completely unfamiliar.

It seemed so strange to think that most of the people here lived in the same castle as her, only in different parts, maybe cooking or cleaning rooms when no one else was occupying them. It was usually so much quieter than today, where the air was thick with heavy breathing and too warm from the heat of hundreds of bodies squashed into one place. Makoto didn't like it one bit.

When she finally got to the large wooden doors that led to the conference room she was completely out of breath, stopping to put her hands on her knees and take a few gasps of air. After a few seconds she rightened herself again, and pushed through into the room. Much to her relief, Makoto's father was there, with only a few men dressed in smart outfits by his side, dragging their fingers across a large and detailed map spread across a huge wooden table that filled the center of the room. None of them noticed her entrance, so she cleared her throat.

To that they raised their heads, and as soon as Makoto met the Kings eyes she could spot the stress and worry creasing his brow. It was strange to see him like this, the man usually put on a brave face in front of his children, even when something was bothering him, or making him upset. Makoto didn't dwell on it though, and rushed to the men's side, eyeing the map sprawling across the table and realizing that, although she could tell where the kingdom she was in was - due to the scroll drawn above the area that labeled it, she had absolutely no idea where, or what, anything else was. Mountains covered the top left of the map, the furthest part from her Kingdom.

Rivers and lakes were mapped also, but ones she had no name for. The only places she had ever learned about were places inside her kingdom, and looking at the map, where it was drawn so small and insignificant, made her head spin a little. Where there really so many other Kingdoms like hers? And some seemed much larger, too, nearly doubling her kingdoms size. It made her feel small and powerless. It didn't seem like the King was going to start a conversation any time soon, so Makoto began.  
"Do you know where they came from?"

"You think I am more of a fool than I am, Makoto. As soon as I heard the commotion I was there straight away. Too late to catch anyone, but still close enough to see their uniforms. I've been expecting this attack for too long, the wait has made me drop my defences." He sighed heavily, and returned his full attention to the map. He seemed content to leave the conversation at that, which Makoto would have none of. She needed information, now, so she could do whatever was necessary to find Yukiho and bring her home. Wasn't her father upset at all? The only expression that marked his face was stress, no remorse or sadness.  
"Who, then? Is it a Kingdom that I know of? Or somewhere far away?"

The King shook his head in defeat. "You're not going to like what I am going to tell you, but I know you won't rest until I give you information, as impatient as you are. Do you remember your uncle?"

Vague memories fluttered around Makoto's mind - hazy memories from more than a decade ago, when she was just a child, of a man with a full face and stern expression sitting in the corner of the Castles lavish gardens whilst he watched Makoto and Yukiho chase butterflies and whatever else exited them. One day, the man had just vanished, with no trace and no explanation as to why, or where he went. There was no fuss like there was if his brother had gone missing, hardly anyone in the Kingdom even paid notice to it - nobody particularly liked the man. She nodded in reply to the Kings question, and waited for him to continue.

"I never explained to many people, it wasn't something I was eager to talk about at the time that he left. But he is the one who has sent an army against us, and it's my fault he did it. I was young, I didn't know."

* * *

Just over 40 years ago, the young King (or Prince, at this point in time) was running around in a field outside the castle walls that held what seemed like millions upon millions of every flower imaginable, daisies, tulips, sunflowers, every bloom and shoot seemingly different from the patch next to it, spreading for miles out of eyesight. There was another boy in the field, too, but the bigger flowers and towering trees were obscuring him from view. It appeared as if they were playing hide-and-seek, the Young King running franticly and laughing, shouting the other child's name over and over;  
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" He yelled, spinning 360 degrees and setting off into a sprint.

The other boy was sitting high up a tree, reading a book that was nothing like what a normal child should read - he had snuck it out of the library, a large leather hard-back entitled 'Sciences of the modern day'. There were drawings of large, fierce looking horses pulling people sat in carriages, and someone hitting metal over a blazing hot fire into a long rectangular shape with a pointed end. These were much more entertaining than what the Castles' dull librarians had suggested to him.

His brother was still running, and calling, but the other boy let him be. He wondered if his legs were aching yet.

The young King was always surrounded by smiling faces, always having someone there to tell of his tales of fighting wizards and dragons in the field outside to. People assumed he was the smartest, too, because he was the first to shout the answer to any question the Castles staff or their teachers would throw at the two boys. It wasn't true at all, though.

"Just because you shout the loudest, doesn't mean you know the most" the boy once remarked to his older brother quietly. He received a grin and laugh in response.

Living in someone's shadow is hard, especially when you have to be sat down and told that he would be better at ruling an entire kingdom than you. Could no-one else see that it was arrogance, not knowledge that plagued the young Kings face? The rest of the youngest boy's childhood and adolescence was spent watching his brother taking all the spotlight, and it was unbearable. One day, after they had grown; the eldest talking the throne, finding a wife and having children, and the youngest taking nothing, and having no-one, he decided for once he would take action.  
He packed his clothes and the very few trinkets he had collected in his life time, and ran away from the confining walls of his home, in hope of finding some place better.

He could rule his own Kingdom. One better and bigger and stronger; where more people would love him rather than love his brother.

* * *

Makoto's father sighed, running his fingers through his thick hair and sitting down in the armchair that was neglected until now, shuffling it forward to meet the edge of the table.

"Here-" He pointed to a large kingdom on the map, quite some distance from Makoto's home "- Is where he lives now. and that is where the army came from, I'm sure of it. As soon as I can rally whatever forces we possess we will be traveling to get Yukiho back, but that may take time. Just wait for a while, maybe a few weeks, maybe a month, and we can go to save her.

He wouldn't harm his niece - and we need to be stealthy. It will require a lot of planning." He mused, letting his fingers slide over the surface of the map, tracing the marked pathways and uncharted forest areas. Without second thought Makoto grabbed the map and ran from the room. She didn't turn to see if her Father had risen from his chair, but he certainly didn't shout for her to come back.

As she ran she touched a finger to her face; her cheeks were wet, but whether it was tears of anger or of worry she didn't know. She just kept running until she found the doors of her bedroom. She didn't really know why she was going there, maybe just to be alone, but a plan was slowly forming in her mind.

By the time she got to the edge of her bed, throwing the map carelessly onto its surface, her mind was set.

She grabbed her largest leather satchel (her favorite, because of it's sturdiness) and threw that onto the bed too, picking the map up again and rolling it up into a small enough size to fit into the bag without being creased. After that was inside Makoto made her way to the wooden cabinet in the far corner of the room. Inside was the sword her mother gave her, still shiny and sharp despite it's years without action, locked away in her room. Maybe it would be of use to her now, Makoto thought, even if it was nothing more than a good luck charm.

With that safely inside the satchel too, she threw a few items of clothing and a hairbrush to the growing pile forming inside the bag, and walked back out of the door again, not looking back.

Maybe she was reckless, or confused, or blinded by her anger, but the only thing in Makoto thoughts were Yukiho. Her father hadn't had the best relationship with his sibling, so he couldn't possibly fathom the upset and restlessness Makoto was feeling because of her sisters absence. He wouldn't help her, so she would have to get Yukiho back on her own.

The rooms of the castle were still crowded, and Makoto passed through silently, hoping no-one would notice her and try to talk to her. When she made it out of the stuffy rooms into the quiet corridors without being detected, she quickened her pace, half between a walk and run. Perhaps it was a bit dramatic of her that, whenever she spotted a guard around the corner she quickly pulled herself behind a wall out of sight until he or she moved on, but she couldn't help it. This felt too much like the books she read as a child; a spy sneaking round caverns and castles without being detected.

The same running then suddenly stopping continued for a while, until she reached the door that she was looking for. It led to the side gardens of the castle used for farming and gardening, and at the far end there was a small hole in the colossal wall that surrounded the kingdom that she would be able to squeeze through like she did as a child when she wanted to play alone or just with Yukiho. No-body would be around the gardens, Makoto reasoned with herself, there was too much going on inside for people to be watering their strawberry plants right now.

She pushed through the door into the startling light of outdoors and made a run for it, finding the familiar hole easily and slipping through, into the great unknown.

**((A/N: i'll talk a lot so if you're not interested just skip this c: ..Yay, finally, chapter two~ i can't believe i could have published this way too long ago but i'm stupid and blind. i just want to say that my friend Abbie was a great help in this! :3 i had to skip on many things i wanted to add because i want things to move on faster. uh, enough blabbering now.. sorry**

**7/22 UPDATE: I've only changed a few small grammar and wording problems. hopefully everything is correct this time.. If you spot anything that seems to be wrong or "unclear" please tell me so i could fix it! thank you~ )) **


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